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WrestleMania VII
WrestleMania VII was the seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on March 24, 1991 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. WrestleMania VII was originally supposed to be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but it was decided to move the event to the adjacent Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The World Wrestling Federation's stated reason for the venue change was that a threat had been issued towards the company in the wake of Sgt. Slaughter's portrayal of an Iraqi sympathizer. Event The tagline for the event was "Superstars and Stripes Forever," and is remembered for its theme of American patriotism in the wake of the Gulf War. American flags were hung all over the arena and the ring apron and banners were colored red, white, and blue, which was the basis for the main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Championship. WrestleMania VII is remembered for the emotional reunion between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and his manager, Miss Elizabeth, which occurred following "The Ultimate Warrior getting his Ultimate Win" (as Henry Winkler put it on the broadcast) over Savage in a "Retirement Match". The "Macho Man" graciously held the ropes open for Miss Elizabeth in order for her to exit the ring with style, after years of having her do it for him. Aftermath The event marked The Undertaker's WrestleMania debut. , The Undertaker has never lost a match at WrestleMania. Virgil and Ted DiBiase feuded with each other right up until SummerSlam 1991 when DiBiase put his Million Dollar Belt on the line against Virgil. Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao were on loan from the Japanese promotion Super World of Sports. The WWF co-promoted several cards in Japan with the group, including two Tokyo Dome shows in April and December 1991. Although SWS folded in June 1992, Tenryu's follow-up promotion, WAR, co-promoted the WWF's first Japanese tour in 1994. After WrestleMania VII, The Hart Foundation disbanded. Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart went into single competition, with Bret having more success. Production This was the first WrestleMania not to feature Jesse Ventura as a color commentator. Gorilla Monsoon hosted the event with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. When Heenan had to manage at ringside, Monsoon was joined on the commentary by Jim Duggan, and later "Lord" Alfred Hayes. In addition, Regis Philbin helped with commentary on the main event while Alex Trebek served as the ring announcer. Willie Nelson sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful" before the show. Other celebrity guests in attendance for WrestleMania VII included Philbin, Trebek, and Marla Maples (as backstage announcers), George Steinbrenner, Paul Maguire, Macaulay Culkin, Donald Trump, Lou Ferrigno, Chuck Norris, and Henry Winkler. The artist for the promotional poster is renowned illustrative painter Joe Jusko. The theme song to this event, "Worldwide Spectacle", was written by WWF's internal composer, Jim Johnston. Results Other on-screen talent Category:1991 in wrestling Category:Pay-Per-View Events Category:WWE for Extreme Category:WrestleMania